Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 693 0688 [Terrible Military Expenditure]

When the royal carriage stopped, Ju Ming opened the curtain and jumped down, shouting to Qin Hui: "Where are these dishes?"

The two brothers Qin Hui deliberately turned their backs to the prince. At this moment, they seemed to have come back to their senses. They quickly turned around and held their hoes and bowed: "Your Majesty, Qin Hui (Qin Zi), pays homage to His Highness the prince!"

Ju Ming glanced at the nearby vegetable patch and pointed at a piece of newly emerged vegetables. Since he couldn't identify what they were, he casually said, "These leeks are well grown."

Qin Hui was about to speak but stopped.

He wanted to show that he was good at growing vegetables, but Prince Zhu "referred to the spinach as a leek", which instantly confused Qin Hui.

Correct it, it's like slapping the prince in the face.

If you don't correct him, he will appear to be flattering. The prince will not dare to remonstrate even if he makes a mistake.

Fortunately, Emperor Zhu got out of the car and scolded his son: "If you don't distinguish between grains, those are spinach sprouts!"

Ju Ming leaned over and took a closer look: "Spinach seedlings look like this? I have only seen spinach grown up."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Even if you admit your mistake, you won't mistake it for leeks, right?"

Ju Ming immediately learned his lesson and said: "Then if I admit the wrong crops in the future, I will try to make the error as small as possible."

The Qin brothers couldn't get a word in at all, especially Qin Zi. He didn't expect Prince Zhu to be so funny.

Zhu Guoxiang ignored his son, pointed at the spinach seedlings and said, "You are good at this."

Qin Hui quickly took the opportunity to express himself: "I also read the agricultural books written by the officials, and then I realized that there are all kinds of mysteries in farming. The same is true for growing spinach. You need to soak it in water for a few hours, and then take it out and let it sit for a few days to germinate. . After sowing, water should be poured thoroughly, and then cover with two inches of soil. The seedlings will be ready in six or seven days."

"This is indeed growing spinach according to my method." Zhu Guoxiang smiled in approval.

Qin Hui continued to flatter without any trace: "I am busy with official duties and do not come to the fields often. I only come here occasionally on holidays. I follow the official rules and ask the tenants to strictly abide by them. At first, the tenants thought it was too troublesome and said that the emperor Do you know how to grow vegetables? But after planting it once, the tenants were convinced, saying that they had been growing spinach for half their lives, but it was not as good as the method of the Holy Emperor."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Everything has its own nature and must be carefully observed, experimented and summarized."

"What the officials said is true. Growing vegetables is like governing a country and its people." Qin Hui agreed.

Zhu Guoxiang added: "Spinach is excellent, with a simple temperament, cold and drought tolerance, and can be grown even in winter. However, it is best to plant it in summer, when it grows fastest and can be harvested in a month."

Qin Hui hurriedly said: "Since ancient times, there have never been any big farmers who are as familiar with the habits of all things as the official family. Farming is the foundation of the country. If the king of a country is good at farming, then all the people can be fed and warmed."

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Are you also familiar with farming?"

Qin Hui said: "I have limited energy, and I am not as knowledgeable as officials. Therefore, I have only learned some skills in growing vegetables. When it comes to growing wheat, rice, and sorghum, I only know a little bit about it."

"It's already very good." Zhu Guoxiang praised it.

Qin Hui suppressed the joy in his heart and said seriously: "I must work harder in the future."

Ju Ming also praised: "You are very good. You are good at government affairs and can grow vegetables. You are also the best among many courtiers."

Qin Hui was even more happy: "I was also encouraged by His Highness. When I went to Beijing to take the exam, I happened to live in the same inn with His Highness. Your Highness's knowledge and moral character shocked me. From that time on, I knew that there is heaven and man outside the world. There are people outside, but I have dull qualifications and can only study and work more diligently."

"Hahaha, you know how to flatter someone." Ju Ming laughed.

Qin Hui could no longer suppress his ecstasy, and a smile appeared on his face.

If someone else said he was a flatterer, Qin Hui would definitely think it was sarcasm. But these words came from the prince's mouth, which meant that the prince was so close to him that he could joke about it.

My future career is stable!

After a few words of encouragement, the father and son took a carriage back to the palace.

Qin Zi looked at the car driving away and said with envy: "Sanlang is now in the emperor's heart!"

Qin Hui said: "Second brother should have been remembered just now."

Qin Zi worriedly said: "Although Sanlang does not come every time, he has met the Tian family many times while farming. Will the officials and the prince suspect anything?"

Qin Hui smiled and said: "The officials and the prince are both wise men in the world, how can they not be clear in their hearts? But as long as I do a good job as an official and all government affairs are handled in an orderly manner, they will not care about much else at all, but think that I am doing a good job. There are people who are motivated to farm here. The reason why I come here once in a while and I don’t dare to come every time is just to avoid the suspicion of spying on Tianjia.”

"Sanlang does things in such a secretive manner, I admire him for that." Qin Zi admired from the bottom of his heart.

Qin Hui said: "In today's imperial court, there are countless people who are trying hard to cater to the holy will. The most successful ones are Xiao Chu and Huan Guo. They talk about the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, but they just strengthen the imperial power and flatter themselves. What about the emperor and the prince? Don’t you like it?”

Qin Zi asked: "What is the relationship between Erlang and these two people?"

Qin Hui said: "Huan Guo and I hit it off as old friends, and our personal relationship is still very good. We can refer to each other in the court from now on."

In this time and space, Huan State was finally deceived by Qin Hui. He believed that Qin Hui had the talent to manage the world and benefit the people.

It is estimated that one day in the future, Huan Guo will be implicated by Qin Hui again.

Qin Hui suddenly asked: "Brother, when he was an official abroad, he didn't take bribes and bend the law, right? The Supervisory Office keeps a close eye on him, and he must not lose big because of small things."

Qin Zi said: "I would definitely not dare to be a corrupt official. Only two people from neighboring counties were exiled last year. But who doesn't make a little money as an official? The little salary given by the court is not enough for my daily expenses."

Qin Hui finally felt at ease: "As long as you don't go too far, there should be no problem." Before the Song Dynasty was overthrown, Qin Hui had already decided on a strategy. He wanted to be an upright official and a capable minister, and let his brother make money secretly, so that he would have power, fame and money.

The Qin family is too poor, a small family with no rich background, and it is difficult to support them without making money.

On top of the carriage.

Zhu Guoxiang said to his son: "This man has worked hard and knows how to grow vegetables. At least he has written down the chapter on vegetable growing that I wrote in the farming book."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "If he had no real ability, how could there be so many upright ministers helping him become prime minister in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty? This guy deceived many capable officials. Only when his true colors were exposed did he make countless people angry. Part ways with him."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Qin Hui is so good at being an official and a person, he really can't find any reason to do it."

"Let's use it for the time being," Ju Ming said. "If he doesn't make big mistakes in his life, I will admit that he is really awesome."

The holiday passed quickly, and Prince Zhu began to work all day again.

Fu Zhirou brought a document: "Your Highness, this is a military reform plan jointly drafted by the Grand Marshal's Office, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War."

"Done so quickly?" Zhu Ming was a little surprised.

The army of the Song Dynasty was divided into the imperial army, the Xiang army, the rural soldiers and the Fan soldiers.

The number of the Forbidden Army reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, with a total of 67.6 people on paper. Most of them are stationed in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, and many are scattered across the country.

When Li Gang was defending the city, he claimed that the Forbidden Army was short of one-third.

This statement is obviously reserved, and the actual shortfall is at least more than half.

The Hebei Forbidden Army has the most serious problem of being paid by empty soldiers. Among the ten Forbidden Army, there are only two or three real people, and the rest are all soldiers of the void.

There were hundreds of thousands of Xiang troops in the Northern Song Dynasty. Not only did they receive empty pay, but they were also deducted at will and used as coolies.

Now the Ming Dynasty has basically recovered the territory of the former Song Dynasty, and it is time for the army to clean up.

Moreover, Ju Ming also changed the names of the Forbidden Army, Xiang Army, and Rural Soldiers to Field Army, Garrison Army, and Militia.

The field army is tentatively estimated to number 200,000 people, including some regular civilian and logistics personnel.

The garrison is tentatively set at 3, and its distribution is as follows: 5 in the capital, 5 in Hebei, 5 in Shanxi, 3 in Shaanxi, 2 in Shandong, 2 in Henan, 1 in Sichuan, Huainan, Hubei, Hunan, and Zhejiang , Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi each have .

In addition, there are 180,000 Cao troops, and the inns and delivery stores in various places are also included in the Cao army system.

There is also a navy of 30,000 people, divided into the navy and the river and lake navy.

Local anti-smuggling, bandit suppression, and inspection tasks are all left to the garrison and navy.

These are temporary establishments with a total troop strength of 74.

After the Jin Kingdom is destroyed, the garrison troops in Hebei and Shanxi will decrease. After Xixia is destroyed, the Shaanxi garrison will also be reduced.

If the southwest is to be conquered, the garrison of the corresponding province will increase.

The military pay of the Ming Dynasty Field Army is based on the Northern Song Dynasty's middle and upper-class forbidden army standards, with a slight upward adjustment. The monthly salary ranges from 600 to 1500 Wen (from a soldier to a low-level officer). In addition, they are given food every month and clothes in summer and winter. When marching and fighting, there are additional allowances.

The food and salary of the Ming garrison were adjusted up and down according to the specifications of the Northern Song Dynasty's medium-sized imperial army. The monthly salary ranges from 400 to 1200 cash, and there are also food, clothing, and allowances.

If the unit is stationed in an area with higher prices, there will also be corresponding living allowances.

The Cao army's food and salary are slightly lower than those of the garrison. When receiving transportation tasks, additional subsidies will be given.

The navy and the river and lake water army are between the field army and the garrison army in terms of food and salary.

For an army of 60 people, the daily military pay is 720 guan per month (the Ming court now only talks about a hundred), and the annual military salary expenditure is million guan.

This 720 million yuan is only military pay, and does not include food, clothing and allowances.

Not to mention other logistics and military expenses!

In addition, cavalry costs a lot of money, and the various expenses of war horses are not included.

If you follow this set of standards, even if you no longer build weapons and equipment, you will no longer go out to march and fight. Including food, maintenance and various allowances, the annual military expenditure is estimated to exceed 1200 million yuan.

Once a war begins, military spending will rise!

Fu Zhirou said: "The Ministry of War showed it to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs thought that the food and wages for the garrison and Cao Army were too high."

"It may not be so high. Is it okay to not starve to death like the previous Song Dynasty?" Ju Ming asked rhetorically.

The low-level imperial guards and Xiang soldiers in the Song Dynasty lived like beggars, and most of them had to work on their own to make ends meet. If you only rely on real wages, it will be difficult to support yourself, let alone support your family.

Fuzhi Judo: "They said that rice prices in the New Dynasty were stable and had dropped in various places. Even if military pay remained unchanged, soldiers would still live better than those in the former Song Dynasty."

"fart!"

Zhu Ming said: "Let Qian Chen find a way to make money. I won't embarrass him. I won't fight any big battles this year. I will only fight some small battles in Shanxi."

(End of this chapter)